Duality (CoPs)

Wenger uses the concept of dualities to examine the forces that create and sustain a community of practice.

[2] He describes a duality as "a single conceptual unit that is formed by two inseparable and mutually constitutive elements whose inherent tensions and complementarity give the concept richness and dynamism".

[2] The participation–reification duality is concerned with meaning, which is created through participation and active involvement in some practice.

Because of its links to knowledge management, the participation-reification duality has been a particular area of focus in this field.

The challenge is to share local knowledge that meets the needs of a particular domain in a way that is relevant to others who are not involved in it.